State Supreme Court halts plan to close about half of Pa.’s health centers

By The Associated Press

HARRISBURG — The state Supreme Court is ordering a halt to a plan by Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration to close nearly half of Pennsylvania’s 60 community health centers until it can hear a lawsuit challenging it. One of the affected centers is in Butler, which absorbed the health center and staff from Beaver and Armstrong counties. The high court’s order, issued Wednesday, reverses a lower court decision on the request for an injunction and asks for a speedy hearing of the case. A state employees’ union, Department of Health nurses and several Democratic state lawmakers sued on April 1, saying the plan violates a 1996 law that requires legislative approval before closing any centers. Department of Health officials say they can do a better job treating public health problems by making community health nurses more mobile. Agency employees warn that it’d slow the detection of communicable diseases outbreaks, particularly in rural areas.